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PAYTA. 



From want of population, and a generally bad 

 system of government, agriculture languished 

 under the old Spanish regime ; but since the 

 emancipation from Spain, notwithstanding the 

 anarchy which has so frequently impeded the 

 prosperity of the country, both agriculture and 

 commerce have rapidly increased. 



Among the most singular productions of 

 these countries which are so little known, is 

 the insect called by the Spaniards Sustillo. It 

 has been seen near the town of Huanico, in 

 the valley of Pampantico, and is said to resem- 

 ble our silkworm. It is found only upon the 

 tree called Pacae, described in the Flora Peru- 

 viana,^^ as Mimosa Inga. The Indians eat them, 

 destroying great quantities. The Sustillo spins 

 a web of the consistency of Chinese paper, 

 and remains under his delicate covering during 

 the metamorphosis from chrysalis into butter- 

 fly. It attaches itself in vertical and horizontal 



